Take-away fingers

ABSTRACT

TO PREVENT LEAPING AND JUMPING OF CROWNS AS THEY ARE REMOVED FROM THE CHUCK OF A CLOSURE LINING MACHINE, THE SPONING CROWNS ARE ENGAGED BY SLOTTED TAKE-AWAY FINGERS. SLOTS ENGAGE THE OUT-TURNED FLUTES OF THE CROWNS AND PREVENT JUMPING. WHERE THE CROWN HAS A TAB EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM A PORTION OF ITS SKIRT, A PIN OR OTHER BARRIER IS PROVIDED TO ENGAGE THE TAB SO THAT ALL TABS ARE ALIGNED FOR DELIVERY TO REMOVAL APPARATUS.

United States Patent Inventors James J. Rosati Woburn; Richard C. Boulton, Wilmington, Mass. Appl. No. 788,436 Filed Jan. 2, 1969 Patented- June 28, 1971 Assignee W. R. Grace & Co.

Cambridge, Mass.

TAKE-AWAY FINGERS 6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 198/22, 118/500, 198/24, 198/223 lnt.Cl 865g 47/74 Field of Search 118/318,

500, 503, (Dig,);279/3; l5/(Cap& Seal Dig.);

214/(lnquired), 8 (A), 44 (A); 198/(lnquired), 222, 223, 24, 22; 53/(lnquired); 93/(lnquired) bro [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,001,506 9/1961 Ford .7 118/318 3,333,571 8/1967 Kokinda 279/3(X) 3,396,698 8/1968 Alholm et a1. 118/318 Primary ExaminerMorris Kaplan Attorneys-C. E. Parker, Metro Kalimon and William L.

Baker ABSTRACT: To prevent leaping and jamming of crowns as they are removed from the chuck of a closure lining machine, the spinning crowns are engaged by slotted take-away fingers. Slots engage the out-turned flutes of the crowns and prevent jumping. Where the crown has a tab extending outwardly from a portion of its skirt, a pin or other barrier is provided to engage the tab so that all tabs are aligned for delivery to removal,

apparatus.

PATENTEU JUN28 1971 saw 1 or 2 PATENTED JUN28 l9?! SHEET 2 BF 2 TAKE-AWAY FINGERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention is concerned with container closure lining machinery such as described in US. Pat. No. 3,396,698 to W. I. Alholm et al. and specifically to an improved form of takeaway fingers which prevent crowns from jumping and jamming as they are removed from the chuck at the lining station. It is particularly applicable where inherently unbalanced crowns such as the tab-crown and the baseball cap crown are being lined.

The advent of the tab-crown and of the baseball cap bottle crown has created serious problems in lining such closures on conventional lining machinery. Instead of a symmetrical crown which does not, tilt from a horizontal position, and which may be picked up and handled no matter what its radial position may be, such crowns have a large protruding tab which inherently unbalances the crown, frequently tilts it from the horizontal, and often causes it to jump, twist, and leap-frog away from the device which removes the crown from the chuck on conventional lining apparatus.

An additional difficulty is that unless these crowns with the long, protruding tab are delivered to whatever take-away apparatus may be used in a consistent radial position, the crown may hit portions of the take-away apparatus, or not fit in whatever stacker and packing apparatus follow the lining operation.

The enormous number of crowns which are annually consumed has required that the crown lining industry equip itself with a very large number of lining machines. It is not practical to reequip the industry with specialized lining machinery to handle these troublesome crowns and therefore a small change-part adaptation which can be attached to existing machines and permit them thereafter to handle not only conventional crowns but inherently unbalanced crowns as well has great utility and is economically important. For purposes of the present invention, the term tab is used generally for reference to all tab crowns including the baseball-cap-type crown.

In the container closure industry, the word lining" is applied to the operation of placing a gasketing substance in the closure in a position where it will seal the joint between the container wall and the closure. In crowns, lining is accomplished by injecting a liquid sealing composition into the inverted metallic closure shell by means of a nozzle which operates in timed relation to the movement of crowns passing through the machine. In order to distribute the sealing composition uniformly across the panel and bank against the skirt of the crown, the crowns are rotated at very high speed while the sealing composition is being ejected through the nozzle and is dropping on to the crown. When conventional removal equipment is used, the removal of the whirling crown with its long, projecting tab is extremely erratic, and many jams occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention comprises take-away fingers for stripping crown closures from a rotating chuck which fingers engage the skirt of the closure, partially cover the closure and then slide it off the chuck to a removal station.

One object of the present invention is to provide simple means, usually in the form of change-part take-away fingers, which can be applied to any of the conventional slide feed lining machines and which will prevent leaping and erratic behavior of the crowns as the crown is removed from the rotating chuck. It is a further object of the invention to align tab crowns, i.e., to deliver each crown successively with the tabs occupying a fixed radial position so that they may be easily inspected and the uniformity of the linings checked, and so that the crowns may pass on to take-away apparatus without danger of striking or interfering with fixed portions of the machinery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The form of take-away fingers which accomplish these results are shown on the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. I is a partial top plan view of a preferred embodiment of the take-away fingers installed on the feed bars of a slide feed lining machine.

FIG. 2 is a side view, partly in section, of the right-hand take-away finger taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1 as it is about to strip a crown from the chuck.

FIG. 3 is a partial plan view of an alternative embodiment of the take-away fingers.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the right-hand finger of the altemative embodiment of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the top plate, of one take-away finger shown in FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a right-hand take-away finger l0, and a lefthand take-away finger II which are mirror images of each other and may be formed of metal or a suitable rigid substance. They are attached to a tie plate 12, for example, by screws 13 to form a bifurcated enclosure for the crown 15 straddling the centerline 14 which is the line of motion of crown 15. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the take-away fingers comprise a body 16 extending from a boss 17 which is attached to the tie plate 12 so that the fingers can ride freely over a chuck plate 18. An inner vertical side 19 extends the length of body 16. An upper lip 20 extends inwardly from the upper forward edge of side 19. A lower lip 21 having an arcuate face 9 extends inwardly from the lower forward edge of side 19 and is spaced below the upper lip 20. The arcuate faces of the opposed lips 21 define a closure-receiving pocket 22 which is adapted to engage the lower portion of the skirt of crown 15. The space between the upper lip 20 and the lower lip 21 forms a slot 23 (FIG. 2) which receives the out-turned flutes of crown 15. The radius of pocket 22 is the same as or slightly larger than the radius of the crown 15 at the point of engagement.

The fingers l0 and 11 reciprocate continuously between a forward position 18 (shown in solid lines in FIG. 1) and a rearward position (shown in phantom lines in FIG. 1) of the chuck plate 18. The fingers are driven by the tie plate 12 which is connected to a power source (not shown).

A closure transport means, such as conveyor 24, is normally positioned downstream of the chuck plate 18.

The lining station at which the crown I5 is to be lined comprises a nozzle 25, a pocket plate 26 adapted to seat a crown, and a-chuck 27 secured to a shaft 28. The chuck 27 and the shaft 28 continuously rotate at a speed on the order of about 3,000 rpm. The chuck 27 is cyclically elevated and lowered synchronously with the reciprocation of the take-away fingers. In its elevated position (shown in phantom lines in FIG. 2), the chuck 27 raises the crown 15 close to the nozzle 25 through which lining compound is deposited onto the panel surface of the inverted crown. When the chuck is in its raised position, the take-away fingers slide beneath the rotating chuck. After a metered amount of compound is deposited in the rotating crown 15, the chuck 27 is lowered to the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 2 with the crown l5 resting on the pocket plate 26. In this position the crown may be engaged by the closure-receiving pocket 22 as the fingers move rearward (to the right in FIG. 2). p

In its lowered position the chuck 27 is stripped of the crown 15 by the closure-receiving pocket 22 and another unlined crown delivered from a supply source (not shown) is placed upon it. Normally, when the chuck 27 is fully lowered, the crown I5 is supported by the pocket plate 26 and slightly separated from the chuck. It is otherwise held securely on the chuck by vacuum drawn through a bore (not shown) in the chuck.

After stripping the crown 15 out of the pocket plate 26, the pocket 22 slides the crown over the chuck plate 18 to the conveyor 24. The crown 15 is still spinning rapidly at the time it is stripped from the chuck 27 by the pocket 22. Therefore, the irregular out-turned flutes on the upper portion of the skirt are permitted to move freely in the slot 23 while the smooth lower skirt portion is contacted by the pocket 22. The height of the slot 23 is determined by the depth of the pocket plate 26 in order to provide sufficient space to lift the crown out of the pocket plate 26 onto the chuck plate 18. However, it is important for successful operation that the upper lip 20 be a minimum distance above the crown 15 so as to contain it and control spurious movements, especially during the critical period when the crown 15 is being lifted off the pocket plate 26.

By this means a rate on the order of 200 cycles/minute has been accomplished. As can be seen, it is the essential function of the take-away fingers and 11 to confine each crown as it is fed from the lining station to the conveyor 24 with uniform spacing and without opportunity to cause a jam by such spurious movements as jumping or spinning out of line. The uniform orientation and spacing also provided are of considerable advantage for purposes of inspection and subsequent operations.

With certain modifications, the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 can be used with tab crowns. Where a tab crown is used, the inherent instability of the crown caused by the unbalancing effect of the tab results in an increased and unacceptable number of failures in feeding from the lining station to the conveyor without utilization of the take-away fingers 10 and 11. For use with tab crowns, a stop pin 29 (FIG. 1) is fixed in the right-hand finger 10 in the slot 23. The crowns spin clockwise. They are fed to the chuck 27 in a predetermined radial registration so that the tab 8 (shown in phantom) is timed to enter between the fingers while it is facing upstream (to the left in FIG. 1). The tab contacts the stop pin 29 so that the crown ceases spinning. The cycle is otherwise the same as with a conventional crown. When the crowns are delivered to the conveyor 24, the tabs are uniformly registered to face upstream.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate another embodiment of the takeaway fingers which can be used either for conventional or tab crowns and which has the advantage of accepting tab crowns in any radial orientation while delivering them in uniform registration to the conveyor. Thus the requirement that the tabs be oriented to any particular position as they are engaged by the fingers is eliminated.

Take-away fingers 31 and 32 are mounted on the tie plate 12 somewhat further outboard of the centerline 14 than are the take-away fingers 10 and 11 of FIG. 1. Fingers 31 and 32 are typified by the right-hand finger 31 which comprises a body 33 extending from a boss 34 which is attached to the tie plate 12. A lower lip 35 having an arcuate face 7 extends inwardly from the inner edge of the body 33. The arcuate faces of the opposed lips 35 define a closure-receiving pocket 36 adapted to contact the lower portion of the skirt of the crown The body 33 terminates in a stop lug 37. In this respect the left-hand finger 32 differs from the right-hand finger 31, the former having no stop lug. An upper lip is formed by a top plate 38 which is removably attached to the body 33. The top plate 38 extends inwardly over a forward portion of an inner edge 39 of the lower lip 35.

As noted above, the left-hand finger 32 differs from the right-hand finger 31 in that the body 33' terminates not in a lug but in a radius 40.

The operation of the take-away fingers will now be explained keeping in mind the action of the chuck 27 as previously explained and shown in H6. 2. Entering the cycle at the extreme upstream position (solid lines in H6. 3), the takeaway fingers 31 and 32 begin to move to the right toward the elevated chuck 27 which, with a tab crown 15 seated thereon, begins to descend from the nozzle 25. The spinning tab crown 15' circumscribes an interference circle 41. lt is apparent that the leading edge 43 of the top plate 38 must not arrive at the interference circle 41 until the chuck 27 has lowered the tab crown 15 sufficiently to allow the top plate 38 to pass over the tab crown 15'. As the fingers continue to move downstream, the closure-receiving pocket 36 will contact the skirt of the tab crown 15 to draw it downstream to the conveyor 24 as previously explained. The top plate 38 partially covers the tab crown 15 acting to control it in the same manner as the upper lip 20 of the fingers of HO. 1. While the fingers are moving downstream to engage the tab crown 15', the crown continues to spin beneath the top plates 38. The radius 40 of the left-hand finger 32 permits the tab to spin freely until such time as the lug 37 crosses the interference circle 41 at which time the tab contacts the lug 37 and the crown ceases to spin. The phantom lines in F IG. 3 show the direction of the tab crown 15' being delivered to the conveyor 24 with the tab registered against the lug 37.

The take-away fingers 31 and 32 may be adapted to be used with conventional, that is nontab, crowns by changing the top plates 38. FIG. 5 shows a top plate 42 for use with conventional crowns as it would appear mounted on the take-away finger 31 which is shown in outline. In this case the leading edge 43' is not cut back as far as is the case with leading edge 43 of the top plate 38 used with tab crowns. It can be understood by comparing HO. 3 and FIG. 5 that the top plate 42 could not be used with tab crowns because the leading edge 43' would extend so close to the interference circle 41 that it would intersect before the crown 15' is lowered sufficiently to permit it to pass over. However, with conventional crowns his only necessary to clear the circumference of the skirt of the crown and so the top plate leading edge 43' may be closer to the crown skirt. As a result the crown is covered by the top plate 42 as soon as the crown is lowered on the chuck.

In the past it would have been necessary to adjust the descent time of the chuck to accommodate different crowns to make sure that a crown would be low enough when the top plate or its equivalent passed over. Such an adjustment is a practical impossibility. Alternatively, the entire take-away apparatus would have to be redesigned to accommodate a crown variation. By the take-away fingers described here, a simple change in the relatively inexpensive top plate 43 is all that is required to convert the entire lining machine for different crowns.

While the variation has been expressed here in terms of conventional crowns versus tab crowns, it is evident the principle applies generally to a change from crowns of one size to crowns of another size. Thus, when desired, the top plate may be changed to suit any crown capable of being handled in the balance of the machine.

Although the crowns shown here are the type having outturned fluted skirts, other types such as press-on caps with pull tabs or screw or lug-type closures may be used with equal success.

We claim:

1. In a container closure lining machine wherein a sliding member strips closures from a chuck at the completion of lining, a pair of take-away fingers fastened at the end of said slide, said fingers being spaced apart a distance sufficient to clear the outer dimension of the closure, each of said fingers comprising a surface curved to engage the skirt portion of the closure to strip it from the chuck and a surface extending partially over the closure to contain it.

2. In a container closure lining machine wherein a sliding member strips closures from a chuck at the completion of lining, a pair of take-away fingers fastened at the end of said slide, the said fingers being spaced apart a distance sufficient to clear the outer dimension of the skirt portion of a container closure, each of said fingers having a slot on its inwardly directed face, having vertical and horizontal dimensions sufficient to receive the out-turned portions of the skirt of a container closure.

3. A container closure lining machine as claimed in claim 2 wherein one of the said fingers is provided with an upstanding pin positioned to form a stop and arrest further rotary motion of a lined closure by the contact of a tab on said closure with said pin.

4. ln a container closure lining machine wherein a reciprocating member strips closures from a rotating chuck at the completion of lining and delivers them to a removal device; a pair of take-away fingers fastened at the end of said reciprocating member, the said fingers being spaced apart a distance sufficient to clear the outer dimension of the skirt portion of a container closure, each of said fingers having an upper lip extending from its inwardly directed face to partially cover the container closure; and a lower lip for engaging the skirt of the closure and moving it to the removal device.

5. The fingers of claim 4 wherein one of said fingers is provided with a stop member positioned to arrest rotary motion of a lined closure by the contact of a tab on said closure with said stop member.

6. In a container closure lining machine wherein a reciprocating member strips closures from a rotating vertically reciprocating chuck at the completion of lining and delivers them to a removal device, a pair of take-away fingers each comprising a body fixed to said reciprocating member, said fingers extending along the direction of reciprocation on each side of the closure and spaced from the closure; a lower lip extending inwardly from the body and terminating on the upstream end of the body in a radius for engagement with the closure; a removable top plate extending inwardly from the body to cover a portion of the closure as the fingers move thereby said top plate being adapted to at least partially cover the closure as the closure is lowered on the chuck. 

